Snakes and Turtles
by NiceTri
Summary: Chimon is only five when he discovers something sickeningly evil, something that changed everything. His Papa is not who he had thought, and now he has to do something about it. He really shouldn't have walked down that hallway. Orochimaru's son.
1. ARC 1: The Truth!

**Welcome! Please enjoy!**

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Here's an interesting fact about me; I have no memories before the age of three.

Here's another interesting fact; today, I found out my father is a crazy good, but still insane, evil, mass murdering scientist.

You see, it was just another day at the hideout. Before I found out The Truth, I'd always thought it was perfectly normal to grow up in an underground lair. There were always people in white coats hurrying about, and I'd thought that was perfectly normal, too. And I thought it was funny when they always made time to bow to me as they passed, like I was someone special. Of course, I knew it was because of my father that I was offered such deference, even at the tender age of 5.

In saying that, when I started reading stories at four and a half, I began to pick up on things. Ethics was one of them, something that was interspersed throughout novels. Hidden between the lines. Heroes wouldn't kill because only evil people kill, heroes always protect their friends, people get to see these things called 'trees' and 'markets' and the 'sky'. I had never seen these things, yet these were all normalised in texts.

Strange.

That was when I realised that maybe, just maybe my situation was a little bit weird. I got curious. Curiosity is a dangerous thing. I got curious why there were some places I wasn't allowed to go, doors and hallways I couldn't enter with seemingly no explanation. Scientists would hurriedly throw out excuses and steer me away before I could enter. When I asked Papa why so many doors were locked, he smiled that slightly scary smile of his and told me not to worry about it.

Of course, I could not abide by this. Heroes always poke their noses into such things so they could have adventures and save people…

And thus, I made my decision. When Papa and Uncle Kabuto had disappeared into one of the restricted areas (they normally spent hours in those places) I made my move.

With all the stealth I could muster, I snuck down one of the corridors my Papa had told me never to go down. And I'll admit I was nervous but also excited. I had never done anything so directly against my father before and it was _exhilarating._

It wasn't much different to any of the other halls; the difference being that rather than lit by candles, it had artificial white lighting.

Thankfully, since it was really early, there weren't many of Papa's employees walking around yet. I arrived at the first door I could find, a heavy metal thing. I glanced about guiltily but steeled myself, taking a deep breath. Thus fortified, I reached up for the handle and pulled.

It was locked. But my name is Chimon, and if I can't pick a lock I may as well be nobody.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Isas, my snake companion admitted from my sleeve. I silently agreed but didn't voice my thoughts.

Removing a wire hidden under my hair, I closed my eyes and slipped it into the lock. Channelling a bit of chakra into it, I felt out the mechanism of the lock. It only took me a few moments to twist my wire _just right _and a moment later the door clicked open. Stashing away the wire, I swallowed back my misgivings and swung the door open.

And I-

Clapped a hand over my mouth just before the scream escaped my lips.

There were men… men hanging from the walls, stripped bare aside from tattered shorts, their bodies gaunt and pale. The only sound in the room was their ragged breathing, and none of them even looked up if they noticed me.

And in the middle of the room was a metal table with shackles.

Isas was silent, his tiny length curling around my wrist so he could get a better view. He seemed as confused as me.

If I was meant to be a hero, should I be saving these men? But I felt my heart fill with dread. I closed the door silently after me, pale as a ghost. I could barely believe it. If I wasn't such an avid reader, I might not have realised how _wrong _that situation was.

I took off at a jog down the hallway, my mind strangely blank. Were the books wrong, and this kind of thing was normal? Was it normal to use other people like this?

The further down the twisting hallways I got, the louder a strange sound was becoming. It sounded like many people, muttering, breathing harshly. But every now and then it was interspersed by a high pitch sound that sounded oddly like…

And I took a turn and I was faced with rows upon rows of prison cells. Men on the left, women on the right. It smelled putrid, and I swear that person lying on the ground wasn't breathing.

That sound…

It was screaming. There was _screaming._

"Why are there so many humans?" Isas hissed, taking in the rows of cells. "This is strange, isn't it?"

Faint. I felt… faint. I stumbled back around the turn so I was out of view and my back hit the wall. I slid to my feet; my breathing strangely erratic.

I gulped in air, but it tasted vile, so I was on my feet sprinting back the way I had come. I gasped for fresh air the moment I returned back to the unrestricted corridors.

I didn't get it. Did this make Papa a villain? Did this make him _evil? _And every other scientist in these walls?

I needed more information.

.

.

.

"Wh-where are you going?" I mumbled, yawning. It was only a few days since my great revelation, and I'd decided to lay low until I could inform myself more. After all, Papa had never done anything weird to me… that I knew of.

My father smirked at me and smoothed a hand through my hair as he pulled the blankets off himself and swept his legs over the side of the bed. I felt a moment of intense grief that my source of warmth had left me, and I had nothing to cuddle.

"Nowhere that concerns you, little one. Go back to sleep."

I frowned but let my head drop back onto the pillow. A few moments later I heard the shower start running. I waited as he prepared for whatever it was he was going to do, dressing into his ninja gear and gathering his supplies of kunai and shuriken. Then, a moment of after the door had clicked shut, I was on my feet.

"What are you doing?" Isas hissed from my onesie sleeve, annoyed at being woken.

"Papa is doing something _evil_ again," I whispered, turning towards my destination.

"Or maybe he is just having a meeting?"

"At three am?" I retorted. "That's not normal. But in any case, this is the perfect opportunity to look into _that _room."

'That room' being the one right in front of me, adjoined to Papa's room. I occasionally tended to sleep with him anyway, so it was basically our room now. Especially over these last few days because my adventure with Isas had given me nightmares (and Isas too, not that he would admit it).

The Door was one that Papa had never told me _not _to enter, but it was one of those things that you just _know. _Like, I could sense the ominous feeling radiating from the door and so I had never dared venture near it. But now…

"Are you sure you want to do this? You don't know what you might find," Isas mumbled.

"Are you _scared?_" I mocked, despite the fact I was feeling just as uneasy. I didn't want to see _more _horrible things my father apparently endorsed, but… if there was anywhere that would tell me The Truth, it would be in this room.

I stepped towards the plain wooden door, decorated only by etchings of two snakes hissing at each other on both sides.

I realised another thing. There was no door handle. I frowned and pushed at the door, but it didn't budge. I leant my ear against it, but heard nothing-

Wait, no. There it was. The tiniest of thrumming, like the door was vibrating. I closed my eyes and clumsily channelled it to my hands and started moving my hands across the etched wood.

Yep, I could feel the inconsistencies of chakra inside. Just a trickle of it.

"Fuuinjutsu?" I mumbled, wondering what could be stopping the door from opening. I had read a little about fuuinjutsu, and unless this was some sort of trick door that was the only explanation I could think of. Maybe you needed a seal to enter, or a certain chakra signature.

"It could be trapped," Isas put in.

"The only ones who can enter Papa's room to reach this door are Papa, Kabuto and I. Unless Papa doesn't trust Kabuto or me, it seems unlikely."

Then again… I _was _betraying his trust. Even if it hadn't been explicitly stated that I couldn't enter. I withdrew guiltily.

"Let's get some breakfast while I think about it," I mumbled, so off to the kitchens we went.

The answer didn't come to me immediately. I got distracted playing tag with Isas and some of the scientists invited me to show me how to use a scalpel. I think they did it in the hopes that I'd report back to Papa with stories of their good deeds. Which I do, sometimes, if I particularly like one of the scientists.

In any case, it was afternoon by the time I returned to Papa's room. And it was as I was opening the door that opened upon recognising my chakra signature that the thought hit me.

Perhaps I was looking at it all wrong. After all, there were no visible ink symbols denoting fuuinjutsu, yet I could feel the chakra in the door. Perhaps… perhaps there was something _else _causing that chakra flow.

Could it be a ninjutsu of some kind? That seemed the most likely but trying to reverse-engineer the door to come up with an answer could take weeks. If that was the case, I was screwed as hell. And I couldn't just bash down the door because the chakra might be some kind of trigger.

I sat down and crossed my legs in front of the door, thinking. My eyes were closed and I attempted to take on a meditative position like the diagrams I had seen in the books I used to use to try and access my chakra.

On the off chance it wasn't a ninjutsu, and if it wasn't fuuinjutsu, were there any other possibilities?

Hm… the main three were ninjutsu, taijutsu and-

_Genjutsu!_

I jumped to my feet with excitement causing Isas to tighten his thin body around my arm. But I wasn't paying attention to him. I carefully formed the tiger seal with both hands and I closed my eyes.

"Kai!" I yelled, my chakra releasing in a sudden burst. I opened my eyes slowly and for a moment I thought it hadn't worked.

Until I touched the door and the hum of chakra had disappeared. But… it seemed as if releasing the genjutsu had done nothing.

I frowned when I noted that I wouldn't be able to reset the genjutsu, which meant that when Papa returned he would probably notice. But still…

"Look!" Isas hissed suddenly, and I followed his head which was pointed towards a very, very faint patch of wood which was slightly lighter than the rest, as if the wood had been slightly worn away from being touched a lot.

I frowned and put my hand there. Nothing happened. It was clear this spot was used for _something _however, but just what would trigger it to open?

With a bolt of realisation I resisted the urge to grin. Of _course. _What is the one thing that can be used as a key when there is no keyhole?

I channelled chakra to my palm, and I heard a click. I briefly wondered if the door knew how to recognise signatures because if so I had probably just set off a trap.

And a moment later the floor dropped out from under me and I couldn't quite reign in a shriek as I tumbled into pitch blackness and landed hard on a solid ground. The trapdoor I had fallen through closed over above me, leaving me in pitch blackness.

"What have you _done!_" Isas hissed, sounding as hysterical as was possible for him. "Mother and Orochimaru-sama are going to _kill _us!"

It was pitch black, and the room was as silent as death. It felt like we were in a strange void and if it weren't for the solidity the floor provided, I would have freaked. Trembling, I called on my chakra, closing my eyes (which didn't really do anything considering it was black already) and focussed on converting my chakra to the fire nature. I carefully channelled it to my fingertip and focussed hard to expel it from my skin. It worked for a second, until I realised my finger was burning and I cursed and let it die out. I tried again, trying to split my chakra into both fire and water elements in my chakra coils.

Unfortunately, while theoretically possible, splitting my chakra into both natures was proving to be near impossible, and after half an hour sitting in darkness and listening to Isas complain, I changed tack.

Technically, water was the direct opposite to fire. It should be easier to convert to earth to create a coating on my finger so it doesn't get damaged. With this in mind, I tried once more.

Again, another frustrating half hour passed before I gave up. It had to be possible _somehow!_

Perhaps I should return to basics. Even my neutral chakra might work as a barrier for my skin against the fire. That meant, all I had to do was convert some of my chakra to fire nature and be careful to have a stable supply of chakra on my fingertip.

I envisioned what I wanted, practicing in my head a few times before bringing my (slightly burnt) finger back up and attempting it.

It worked! It took a few attempts, but soon enough I had a small flame on my fingertip, and I grinned giddily at the sight.

With my hand held out before me, I slowly rose to my feet and walked a few paces towards where there was a large outline. It turned out to be a bookcase.

I read a couple of the titles. Some of them I didn't understand because they were big words, but it seemed this place was some kind of archive of results of experiments. Pulling out a random dossier, I began to peruse the contents, having to sit on the ground so I could turn the pages with my spare hand.

I briefly looked over the summary at the front, but I couldn't really understand it. The language was too technical, so I didn't even bother.

"Oh…" I breathed, and I shoved it back into the shelf before I could look any harder.

There had been pictures… of infants. Dead infants, some of the seemed to have been speared with parts of trees, wood sticking out of their lifeless bodies.

Feeling decidedly sick, I decided to try another dossier. This one was easier to understand because there were diagrams attached, and the process of adapting the fuuinjutsu was quite clear.

"The curse mark," I mumbled. I refrained from looking at the pictures of both the successful and the unsuccessful attempts at the curse mark for fear of what I would see, but it was interesting to trace the fuuinjutsu patterns Papa had started with, and how he edited the original to improve his success rate. Though as far as it seemed, only 10% of those marked survived it.

"Senjutsu?" I mumbled, staring at the word. I had never heard of that before, but it must really be something if it gave such massive powerups. Well, even if I couldn't understand most of this, there was one thing I knew for certain; my father was _really _smart.

I flipped through the rest of the pages and was just about to put the dossier back when I noticed a little piece of paper- a note slip from the last page.

I picked it up.

'Cross-referenced in A20-6 for application and usefulness in combination with body acquisition.'

I put the file back and quickly moved along the shelves until I found the file it had mentioned.

I opened it and scanned through it.

I paled. I could pick up enough to realise that my Papa had been stealing people's bodies. And it was soon clear that the curse mark left a little bit of himself in every person he marked. It meant that so long as there were people with curse marks alive, there was always the chance he could be revived. But it would seem that was hardly necessary considering the amount of back-up plans upon back-up plans he had for immortality. Turning his own innards into snakes in case he ever got cut in half so he could pull his body back together as if nothing had happened? Check. High regeneration of cells in case of fatal injury or blood loss? Check. A bolstered immune system to cure sickness? Check.

"Isas…" I whispered faintly. "Did your mother ever mention anything about Papa being immortal?"

Isas hissed and waved his head to imply a negative.

Immortality? That was something I hadn't even considered _possible, _at least not for a few hundred years, maybe even thousands without the aid of bloodlines, and yet my father was so far ahead of medical jutsu and technology and biology that he had made himself immortal. Only _gods _could achieve such things. It was… It was…

"Impossible?"

I screamed, dropping the file to the floor, causing papers to scatter. My already tenuous hold on my flame technique dissipated with my loss of focus and I was plunged into darkness once more.

But there was a click and suddenly light flooded the room.

As I focussed in on my father, who was facing me with an amused smile. How long had he been there? When had he arrived?

But more importantly, my mind was working rapidly, making connections.

As in, how did _I _fit into the scheme of things? There had been mention of problems with incompatibility with the hosts for the body transfer jutsu, and there had been a brief annotation on the side in my father's pretty, loping handwriting that mentioned that a possibility was that closer genetics could increase compatibility, and therefore cause the host body to decay at a far slower rate.

My heartbeat quickened and I felt my mouth dry up like a desert.

"My, I will admit I didn't expect you to come exploring this soon. You are far too curious, though you are my child. I should have known you would find a way past the barriers I put up."

"You!" My voice was hoarse as I spoke, thrusting a finger at him. "You're the villain of my story! I can't believe I didn't see it until now! You- I- you-"

"Child, what are you prattling about?" Papa asked silkily, stepping towards me. "It sounds like those fantasy novels I have been buying you are going to your head."

"Don't come any closer!" I shrieked. Masami-sama's head popped up from the neckline of Papa's beige tunic. Masami was Isas's mother, a beautiful snake with blue scales and a beige underbelly, much like Isas. Only she was more than ten times his length, and thickness. Isas was barely thicker than a pencil and only about three times as long as one.

Papa smirked but he stopped advancing. I was panting, feeling slightly dizzy as it all came together.

"You're going to kill me! You're going to take my body, aren't you? This is why you have me. This must be why I have no memories, because you probably made me in a test tube or something so our DNA would be really similar and- and-"

I grabbed a thick book from the shelf, an encyclopedia of some kind that was heavy enough to make me stumble, and I clumsily charged towards him with a war cry. There was little chance I would win this fight, but if I tried it at least raised my chances of surviving slightly.

With difficulty, I raised the encyclopedia above my head and rushed him. When I was in range, I brought my arms down to hit him with it but-

He extended his arm and poked me in the forehead. I stumbled back and dropped the encyclopedia so I could catch myself as I fell. I landed on my butt with a cry.

It was then, looking up at him from an even lower angle than usual, that I noticed how tired he looked. I glimpsed up his sleeves and noticed that his arms were wrapped in bandages.

Just where had he been all day, since 3am? It was almost 9pm now, and he looked more tired than I had ever seen before. His eyes had bags under them, though it wasn't noticeable at first glance, because his makeup covered most of it.

"That's quite the conclusion you have jumped to," he smiled crookedly, his yellow eyes glinting. "But quite a logical, perceptive one. There is, however, one thing you seem to have disregarded."

I yelped as he bent down and lifted me into his arms. Deftly shifting me onto one arm, he wrapped his long, bandaged fingers around my throat. Isas shifted uneasily in my sleeve, but he offered no support as my father's fingers tightened and breathing became difficult. I gripped his wrist in a blind panic, trying to pull it away, but it wouldn't budge.

"So what are you going to do then, little one?" he purred, smiling as he watched me struggle for breath, my eyes filling with tears.

What _could _I do? Nothing. I couldn't even conjure up a little flame to burn him because my mind was clouded with panic. In a logical state, I might have gone for his eyes or torn at his hair, but it was quite difficult to think when my supply of oxygen was being threatened.

And… Papa had never been this mean before. Sure, it didn't escape my notice that he found amusement in things that shouldn't be normal, but _this? _Was he truly threatening me, admitting that he was going to take my life one day, or was this just another one of his games?

"Pa-pa," I managed to gasp out, the word coming out as more of a mewl. My vision was going dark. Tears spilled onto my cheeks.

And then his fingers loosened, and I gulped air into my lungs. Distantly I felt his hand cup the back of my head and he pressed me to his chest, stroking my hair. I was still trembling from the shock, the realisation that I wasn't safe with my Papa, despite the way he hushed and soothed me as I shook in his arms.

He walked towards the original spot I had landed in this room, and I clutched at his tunic, silent.

Then he jumped, and the trapdoor opened as he flew upwards, and a moment later he touched down lightly in his room with me in his arms. The trapdoor closed behind us.

He carried me over to the bed with a sigh. It only ingrained the fact that something had _definitely _happened to Papa while he'd been away, because he normally never displayed his fatigue or debilitating emotions.

Though he might be intending to kill me someday, he had always been the one solid thing in my life that I had trusted and relied on for almost everything, and he had never done anything to hurt me. Why would he change now? Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe he hadn't really just admitted he might take my body one day.

He couldn't _really _be the villain in my story, right? And with the tiny possibility that he might be, well I still had a few years to prepare, because it was unlikely he would take my body until I was older.

Still, I remained silent as he shed his tunic, undershirt and purple sash. It was strange. He didn't even bother to shower or change into his night yukata as he dropped into bed beside me. And his arms… I couldn't see an inch of them. They were entirely bandaged.

I wanted to ask what happened, but I… I couldn't. I was too scared.

With ease his bandaged arms wrapped around me and nestled me against his bare chest.

I didn't get it. He was still so gentle as he stroked my back and held me close like things were as per usual. I hiccupped.

My world had been turned upside-down. How was it that my seemingly caring, amazing father was an evil murderer who one day might take my body? Was it an act? To keep me close?

But if it was, why had he revealed the truth so easily? This had to be another of his mind games.

In any case, there was no point in dwelling on it now. I needed to find out more.

And who better to start with than Kabuto, my Papa's most trusted confidante? He was surely likely to know _something._

Of course, seeing as he was my Papa's right-hand man, word might get back to Papa of my searching. Or perhaps not. Kabuto was quite _unpredictable, _and while Papa trusted him with _information_, I had a feeling he didn't entirely trust _him_.

Which made no sense really, but I'd never bothered to look more into it. Until now. I was going to find out _all _of Papa's secrets.

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**Yay for making it through the first chapter! Pls ****review if you've got a spare moment etc luv you all thanks.**

**Also yeh, Chimon is insanely smart for his age. I'm pretty sure when I was five I was still learning how to add one plus one, not reading whole novels and debating deep things like ethics and morality. But then, the entire ninja verse is full of child geniuses so what's one more?**

**Posted: 01/07/19**


	2. ARC 1: Age is a Concept

**Beware the terrible transitions this chapter.**

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The next morning, I gathered the courage to talk to Papa.

Well, I would have to be careful. If I told him I wanted to leave, he might take measures to keep me locked up here. No, I had to keep what little freedom I had (which, in hindsight, really wasn't much. I had never realised it, but I was _trapped _down here.)

Still, I could do other things.

"If you're going to take my body, don't you want me to be strong?" I asked, trailing Papa as he picked up the tray from the cafeteria and went to sit on one of the benches.

The cafeteria was rowdy as usual. This hideout was reserved for scientists and just enough ninja to keep the place well-defended. I was an oddity, being the only child here that was neither scientist nor ninja. It was one of my father's smaller hideouts that he kept separate from the four Otogakure bases that housed mostly ninja.

No, this base was where the experiments happened. And now that I knew the genre of experiments my father partook in, I expected that the Oto bases only mixed with this one if Papa was experimenting on his people, maybe modifying them to be stronger.

I swallowed. How had I missed it all this time?

I'd asked about his village before, and he'd told me that the Oto bases were where his forces were trained, and they functioned just like any village with civilians and all. He even had the beginnings of a proper, aboveground village in Grass, which was where the ninja academy was situated.

I climbed onto the seat opposite my father. I was very conscious now that I had never relied on anyone except Papa, and thus I had no one to turn to. No friends. No one to help me out of here, especially since everyone was loyal to Papa.

Or… were they?

But that was a question for another time.

"Of course I would," Papa smiled as he placed the plate and utensils he had picked up for me in front of me. I could never reach the trays or see the food, so he always did it for me.

I stared down at the okonomiyaki (my favourite) and picked up my chopsticks.

"Then you should train me."

I heard a polite cough behind me and turned my head to see Kabuto. He placed his food on the table and sat beside me, smiling.

"Good morning Orochimaru-sama, Chimon-kun."

If my Papa was a murderer, did that mean that Kabuto was in on everything? That he was not the kind man I had always thought him to be?

Papa inclined his head, taking a bite of his eggs and toast.

"So I happened to overhear you wanting to train, Chimon-kun. Why the haste?"

I frowned, trying hard not to narrow my eyes.

While I now had to suspect that everyone associated with my father was a villain of some kind and tread lightly, had anything _actually _changed?

No, all that had happened was that I was _seeing. _Seeing things as they really were. And since my father had not made a big deal about telling people, it meant that simply because he knew that I knew, he was not going to act on it. So neither would anyone else.

I was safe. I had that to cling to, at least.

"Papa is going to take my body," I said bluntly, watching his reaction.

Nothing. Well, nothing except for him sending Papa a strange look, which caused Papa to smirk and tilt his head.

There was a conversation in that glance, I just didn't know _what._

Still, I filed the reaction away.

"I see…" Kabuto smiled serenely. "Well, that's… something. How exactly did you come across this information?"

I lowered my gaze back to my food. Should I reveal that Isas and I had gone creeping around? Not even Papa knew what had spurred me on to open the door, the things I had seen.

But what did it matter, really? I knew now, Papa _knew _I knew now, though he only knew I had _read _what he had done. Not seen it.

"I like reading books," I mumbled, barely decipherable above the hum of chatter in the cafeteria.

"Books?" Uncle Kabuto asked, looking comically confused.

If I revealed that I had been sneaking around, would I get locked up? I bit my lip.

Well, it was an experiment. If Papa did decide to lock me up, I would know that I really didn't know him at _all._

I nodded miserably.

"I like books," I repeated. "And in the stories, the hero is out adventuring and discovering things and… and I wanted to do that too. So I went into one of those restricted doors."

Papa paused with a forkful of toast halfway to his mouth, his eyes narrowing. He was surprised.

Kabuto's smile remained fixed, his expression betraying nothing but polite curiosity.

"Ah. And what did you see?"

The scene came back to my mind. I had been avoiding, had been deliberately shying away from it, but…

I clutched my stomach, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea wash over me. I felt tears come unbidden, and I lowered my head so they couldn't see my face.

"E-evil th-th-things," I shuddered, failing to resist the sobs that broke forth. All I could think about were those men, hanging from the walls, and those wailing prisoners…

Isas, currently wrapped around my ankle, tightened comfortingly. Or maybe he was just reliving the moment, too.

"Ah," Kabuto repeated, and his eyes flicked to something behind me. And before I could protest I was lifted up and Papa took my seat, settling me in his lap. He held me and gently rocked while I tried to regain control of myself.

"You didn't mention that before, little one. I forbade you from entering, and now you know why." he murmured, but he didn't sound angry.

I clutched at the shirt he was wearing- plain, long sleeved black shirt that he wore under his black Oto standard vest, but the vest was absent. I pressed my face into his chest, my tears drenching his shirt, but I refused to apologise for going against him.

He was a villain now.

"But if that was what you saw, it doesn't explain how you came to know about Orochimaru-sama's body transfer jutsu," Kabuto added lightly.

"He took a little visit into my private room while we were… otherwise occupied," he stated, running his hands through my hair soothingly.

Kabuto raised a brow.

"He passed the warding genjutsu?"

"And found out how to unlock the trapdoor."

Kabuto was now looking at me in a new light, but I was too busy wiping my tears on Papa's shirt to notice.

"And why don't you show Kabuto that little flame you made, hm?" Papa asked, giving me a little bounce on his knee.

The flame? Why did that matter?

My eyes narrowed.

"Is it weird?" I asked, hoping the anxiety wasn't too prevalent in my voice.

"Not at all," Papa cooed. "It's quite special, in fact."

I frowned but turned to Kabuto and raised my finger between us.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on converting my chakra, then coating my finger with normal chakra. Then, in a burst, I released the chakra steadily from my finger, creating a small flickering flame.

Kabuto's eyes widened.

"Where did you learn that, Chimon-kun?" he asked, and I let the flame die.

"Nowhere," I glaring petulantly, pressing back against Papa.

"Won't you talk me through how you did it, ne?" Papa pressed, and I blinked. Why were they making such a big deal? Papa could raze mountains and bring back the dead; there was no way he didn't know how to make a stupid little flame.

"Why?" I demanded. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?" I glared at the both, my lips pulling back suspiciously.

"Not at all. Humour me."

"Ok but… if I tell you, you have to train me," I stated primly, leaving no room for negotiation.

He laughed. "I think that can be arranged. Now go on."

I licked my lips, but finally I spoke.

"Well, if I get my normal chakra, and create a barrier on my fingertip…" I raised my finger and did just that, though the chakra wasn't visible. "And then I push some of my fire chakra out of my fingertip…"

The flame burst to life again.

"No hand seals. Incredible," Kabuto murmured.

I tilted my head at him in confusion. Really, hand seals made no _sense. _I don't know why people use them, my theory is that chakra doesn't require seals at all. After all, it seems unlikely that someone in history was randomly doing weird things with their fingers and shouted out a random sentence ending with 'something no jutsu!' and voila the first jutsu occurred.

It even cut out all people who couldn't speak Japanese. I knew from some of the older novels I read that there were languages beyond Japanese that had once existed, or perhaps still did exist.

In fact, some masters of certain jutsu can use jutsu _without _hand seals, and without calling out the name of the jutsu. That just proves they aren't required to create jutsu. In fact, I'd go so far as to assume that the creation of hand seal sequences for certain jutsu _limits _the uses of chakra. After all, if everyone believes there's only one way that chakra can be turned into jutsu…

I'd read a few novels by now, and I'd noticed that some of the _really _old ones referred to 'chakra' as 'magic'. And in those novels, oftentimes 'magic' didn't require the mage, magician or wizard to shout words and form weird hand positions to make things happen, although sometimes other mediums like wands were used.

Perhaps it was a state of mind that was required to form magic; something to focus on and believe could be used to make magic, whether it actually was required or not. And magic did not _become _a jutsu; magic was magic, whether it turned into water magic or fire magic.

Of course, all the novels presented 'magic' differently, but there had to be some logic behind it. Chakra only recently-

"Chimon-kun?"

I blinked at the hand waving in my face, my gaze automatically refocussing on Kabuto.

"Uncle?" I responded lightly, smiling slightly.

"Your father just asked you a question," he said, smile twitching. I giggled at the expression.

I blinked and tilted my head up to regard Papa. He smiled down at me.

"I asked how you would feel about having a little brother."

My mind seemed to stutter and fail. I gaped up at him.

Brother? I'd read about people with siblings before, characters in novels that had supportive siblings that were always _really _nice and there for them all the time. It always sounded _awesome, _but I thought it was a distant dream! A _myth _even!

"A brother? Like a _real _person?" I asked, excitement coating my voice. I all but vibrated on Papa's knee. "Can he be really nice and like reading books too? Ooh, will he play the flute with me? Where-"

"I take that as a yes," Papa chuckled. "But it won't be immediately. Perhaps in the next year or two."

My face dropped. I'd be _seven _in two years.

"Why not _now_?" I demanded mulishly. "That's way too long to wait! I'll be so _old _by then!"

"Is that so?" my Papa mused. "That makes me feel so very old. How old is Kabuto, Chimon-kun?"

Well, in books I'd read about people living up to 80 and sometimes even older, but they were always the old and wise ones. Elders, they were often called. Anyone over 60 normally was, in fact. And the main characters in the books I read are normally never older than 16, so sixteen seems like a reasonable age for a normal person. Plus, Papa may be the villain, but villains tend to match the age of the average protagonist.

I squinted up at Papa, then at Kabuto.

Kabuto, on the other hand, was an advisor to my father. And advisors tended to be intelligent and wise. And wise usually meant old. And he _did _have grey hair. And glasses, like a typical intelligent, old person with failing eyesight.

I pointed at Kabuto.

"Well uncle Kabuto is probably eighty or so," I decided, with a nod to myself. Kabuto looked stunned, his jaw dropping open, but I was already turning my attention to Papa.

"And for myself?" Papa asked, his lips turning up at the corners.

"And you're probably sixteen," I added, reaching up to pat his cheek. "It's ok to be old."

And I could feel Papa's body begin to tremor, and he seemed to be struggling to fight off a grin as he clutched me against him, shuddering.

But then he was laughing, and Kabuto was smirking as I was squashed with the way Papa was leaning over in a fit.

"What?" I wheezed testily, trying to wriggle out of his crushing grip.

"Kabuto is nineteen," Papa told me once he managed to contain himself, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. Now it was my turn to gape, staring at Kabuto with new eyes.

"No way!" I breathed. "You're young enough to be a main character!"

"And your father is fifty," Uncle told me primly.

I gasped and turned.

"No way! But that makes you an _old person!_"

How could this be possible? I felt scandalised.

Papa laughed at the horrified look I was shooting him.

"Does that make you my _Grandpa?_" I wondered, dizzy at the revelation. Maybe I had to revise my rigid categories, because my father couldn't be a villain _and _an old man. Could he?

"So cute," Papa purred, nuzzling my hair. "No, I am still your father. Now, why don't you go and grab some juice, hm?"

And he lifted me from his lap and set me on my feet. I couldn't help but stare at him in horrified awe, as if searching for a trace of deception. My father was _fifty. _Actually, if I pondered it a bit more, it _might _make sense. He is _really _smart, after all, and young people normally aren't meant to be super knowledgeable. And haven't made lots of big scientific and chakra related discoveries, and haven't created entire villages from the ground up. And normally don't have their own personal libraries.

He nudged me away after a moment in which I just stared at him in a daze, and finally I snapped out of it and turned, mumbling to myself as I wandered away.

After all, rationally, the main characters in fantasy novels never have kids, do they? That's a thing for older people.

Still perplexed, I walked over to the drinks tray and picked up an orange juice.

I turned back to return to the table, but then remembered my manners and picked up a tea for Papa. He liked plain black tea. Or herbal, but there was no selection of herbal teas, so I settled for black and returned to the table.

* * *

That day I began researching. If I wanted to escape this place one day, I needed to get stronger. And smarter. Reading tended to make people smarter, right?

Hence I ended up in the public library. The library took up almost a quarter of the entire hideout, with massive towering bookcases filling up most of the space. Because of how large it was, it was difficult to run into anyone in the same section as you.

"Look at this," I said, turning a page of the large, tomb-like book. "Did you know infiltration specialists hundreds of years ago relied much more heavily on physically changing appearances than using henges? Because people had really small chakra reserves back then and couldn't hold it for long enough to be reliable."

"Vey interesting," Isas drawled from my collar in a way that told me it was not at all as he stated.

I sighed, shut the book and slid it back into place.

I couldn't exactly reach any of the books on the higher shelves, even using the makeshift ladders provided. How did other people reach them? Surely I wasn't the only one.

In fact, there were _alcoves _high up the walls with their own bookcases in them, and there was no ladder to access those. It must mean they are for ninja only.

But I was determined to see what was in them. I knew the theory behind wall-walking, but I had never attempted it before.

Walking over to the wall beneath one of the alcoves, I closed my eyes and focussed on the thrum of chakra beneath my skin.

Channelling it to my feet, I put my foot on the wall. I took a breath and pushed off-

Only for the wall to explode outwards. With a yelp, I jumped back.

Was that supposed to happen?

I stared at my foot in wonder. I hadn't even released any chakra, but simply bringing it to the forefront of my skin and concentrating it in one place caused so much destructive power. What if I used that on a person? Would they explode like-

"Young man! What was that explosion? Why is there a hole in the wall?"

I turned around to see that one of the librarians behind me, panting slightly. Oh no, it was Ai! She was the meanest, sternest librarian of them all, with a long, hawklike nose, sharp features and equally sharp red glasses.

I giggled sheepishly.

"No idea!" I squeaked, smiling as innocently as I could manage. "I just came over to investigate too, haha!"

Then I made a quick escape to the other side, Ai-san screeching something after my retreating form. Despite the incident, I stayed to do my research and sat down on one of the plush couch chairs provided. Settling in, I began to read.

* * *

My senses came back to me momentarily, just enough to ensure I wasn't in danger. I was being lifted from the highly uncomfortable position I'd been, having fallen asleep on a chair in the library still sitting up, my head almost using my own shoulder as a pillow.

My head was lain on a much more comfortable shoulder and rested against a warm body.

"Whasgoinon?" I slurred, attempting to fend off the encroaching darkness.

"You are going to bed," came the disapproving response. "Beds are for sleeping, not chairs."

"'m readin' book," I mumbled, attempting to rouse myself only to find my head pressed firmly back into Papa's shoulder.

"The book will still be here tomorrow."

I muttered something incoherent and pressed my face into a warm, soft neck before promptly drifting back into the haze of unawareness.

I needed to get training as soon as possible so I could reach the alcoves.

* * *

"You said _you _would train me," I accused. "I don't _want _to go to the academy!"

Papa was currently looking through a microscope lens at something too small for normal eyes to see. He had his lab coat on, with Kabuto leaning on the table and writing dictating whatever he was saying.

"Don't you want to meet others your age? And Kabuto, put down that the chakra is causing the nuclear membrane to become unstable."

"No," I told him petulantly, hopping onto a stool beside him. "I don't care about meeting other people. I just want to know how to fight."

"The chakra is causing the DNA to split due to the hydrogen bonds breaking down," Papa murmured, twisting the barrel of the microscope. "Child, I will train you. But I am also busy, and while I am unavailable the academy will provide a suitable substitute. I will not waste my time teaching you basics."

I scowled and looked away.

"No," I declared. "I'm not going."

That would mean moving.

I waited in petulant silence as Papa ignored me, murmuring a few things to Kabuto before leaning back from his microscope.

Finally he turned his attention to me, his eyes appraising.

"You will go," he informed me, tone firm. Then he stood up and began collecting papers scattered beside him. Kabuto had turned to studying a diagram he had sketched out.

"Why?" I demanded, feeling a rush of anger. "I don't want to go!"

"Because, my dear, you need to be properly _socialised. _And you will not get that while you mope about around here."

"Hey! I don't need to be socialised like a _pet. _And I don't mope! Plus, I have Isas, he's my friend!" I yelled the last part, outraged. Papa was being unfair!

Papa closed his eyes for a moment as if to keep himself in check, before slowly reopening them.

"Isas is a snakelet, and you are a _child,_" Papa told me firmly, as if that was somehow a valid argument. My face flushed; how dare he use that as an excuse? Even if he's a snake, Isas is still a friend! Plus, I'm _five! _Five is old enough to know what I'm doing. I do not need the label of _child; _it was an insult!

I told Papa as much, but in response he walked past me swiftly, clearly ignoring me and heading for the archives to file his findings.

I ground my teeth, my eyes burning with frustration. I _really _didn't want to go to the academy. That would limit my freedom!

I followed on his heels, Kabuto following a moment later.

"You can't make me go," I decided.

Papa stopped and I was close enough behind him that I didn't stop in time, and I bounced off his left leg, thankfully righting myself before I fell. Kabuto stopped as well, but he, as usual, was doing a great job of blending into the background for our argument.

Nerves made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as Papa turned his head enough to regard me, looking down at me from the corner of his eye with a blank expression.

"I can and I will," he said coolly. "You will attend the academy."

I glared and gathered myself, standing up as straight as I could manage.

"No!"

And within a split second, he was suddenly lifting me by the back of my neck. I squeaked and flailed, attempting to reach behind me and claw at his wrist.

"Let me go! Let me go!" I cried, feeling my courage drain away. Sometimes it was easy to forget that my papa is an evil villain. My vision blurred as the tears began to run.

I could feel Isas cringing under my shirt. He never approved of me back-talking Papa.

I was lifted to eye level, thrashing.

He was looking at me with such coldness.

"I am your parent. You _will _do as I say."

My breath hitched. His eyes… they were so _scary. _So, _so _scary.

I fell still, my hands dropping to my sides, hanging limply in his grip on some kind of primal instinct that screamed _predator._

I tried to speak, but all that came out was a hiccup. I covered my face with my arms, curling into a ball in the air, as if to make myself smaller. I managed to restrain my sobs, but I couldn't stop the sniffles and hiccups that escaped.

And then he moved me to the side and I unfurled just in time to land on my feet when he dropped me.

And then he walked away without a word, Kabuto following silently. Only when he had turned a corner did I sprint back to my room, where I promptly cried my heart out.

* * *

"It's not fair," I moaned, punching the wooden training dummy. Deliberating cycling too much chakra into my hands, the surface of the wood exploded outwards on impact.

And a shard of it slammed into my face, causing me to stumble back with a yelp.

Seemed about right. I rubbed my cheek, glaring.

"You are so _lame_," Isas sneered, who was currently stalking a cockroach that was scuttling across the training room floor. I ignored him.

Well, at least I knew my new theory worked. Hopefully, once my chakra reserves increase, I'll be able to annihilate the dummy in one hit, rather than just having a few splinters come out at the point of impact. I should probably learn to properly control my chakra too though, so I can stick things to myself, and walk up walls like a real ninja.

This training room was dedicated to the few ninja at this base, though it was rarely used because most of the ninja here actually know how to get outside where they have more space to train properly. Which I still need to figure out, unless I can just use this new method to punch my way through the ceiling once I learn to properly wall-walk. Although then I might just end up bringing the roof down on my head, so it probably wouldn't be the best option.

I perked up as a thought occurred to me. Nearby, Isas suddenly lunged, but the cockroach noticed his approach at the last moment and suddenly fled in a burst of speed, disappearing beneath a crate of wooden practice weapons.

"At least I'll get to go outside," I murmured. "The Academy is aboveground in the Oto village. And there'll be way more chances at escape, especially if Papa isn't around so much."

"Maybe we just _shouldn't _leave," Isas grumbled. "I don't want to displease Orochimaru-sama _and _mother."

I bristled.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one who's going to get _possessed _by your own _parent!_"

Isas huffed, flicking his tail dismissively.

"Then you can go. I think I shall stay behind lest mother kill me herself."

"You're a summons. Aren't you meant to be _loyal?_"

"Technically, Orochimaru-sama owns my contract. If anyone, _he's _the one I should be loyal to. But if I had my way, I'd have left you stupid humans already. The only reason I _haven't _is because _mother _signed me off to your father the moment I was born."

"Serves you right, for being so self-centred," I retorted with a sneer.

"Us snakes live to serve only ourselves! My _mother _abandoned me at birth, and if she didn't care so much for your stupid father's opinion, me and all my siblings would be free!" Isas hissed agitatedly. "The only reason I stick with _you _is because if I didn't, your father would sacrifice me first chance he gets in a fight, because the only snake he cares about is _mother. _And Manda-sama. The rest of us are just ammo for his jutsu. He's a true snake, but that doesn't mean I want to die for him."

I tore at my hair with frustration.

"As if you would be useful in a fight, you can't even catch a _cockroach! _And here I thought you were my _friend!_" I all but yelled. "Maybe I do need the academy after all!"

I stormed off, my already sour mood darkening. Despite what Isas said about wanting to stick close to me so he wouldn't be wasted on father's jutsu, he did the equivalent of storming off also, disappearing with a puff of smoke.

Thoroughly put out, I decided to spend my time picking locks instead; surely at some point I'd come across an exit?

The base was divided into three main sections excluding the library; Residential, commercial and scientific. Residential was, of course, rooms for the employees. Commercial was where people bought their food and living necessities, and also included some offices for non-science related work. Lastly, the scientific section; this was where all the science and documenting occurred. It was meant to be off-limits to me, but now that I knew what to expect there was no point avoiding it any longer.

I decided to start in the scientific section, mostly due to pettiness because I knew Papa wouldn't approve.

I made sure to knock on each door before entering, and if there was a response I would swiftly move on. Lots of doors simply led to more doorways, so I decided to avoid those for now.

After several various empty labs, I knocked on another unobtrusive door.

There was no response.

I picked the lock easily and pushed the door open.

I stared.

This… was not a lab room. Nor was it empty.

There was a kid, bent at the waist standing beside what was presumably his bed, in a deep bow.

"K-Kabuto-san, you're early today," the boy mumbled. He had chin-length pale green hair, and when he slowly came out of his bow his eyes were a vivid magenta.

He froze, his mouth gaping open slightly when he realised I wasn't Kabuto.

I was just as shocked. There weren't meant to be _kids _in this hideout! And this wasn't the residential section, why was there a room here?

"…who are you?" the boy asked.

* * *

**Posted 07/10/19**


	3. ARC 1: Tayuya is mean

**What am I even writing... XD**

* * *

Hearing voices approaching outside, I quickly shut the door.

"What's your name? What are you doing here?" I demanded, ignoring his previous question.

The boy couldn't be older than five. He was clutching a teddy bear to his chest.

"My name is Yuukimaru," the boy stated hesitantly, "and I live here. Kabuto told me this is my room now."

This made no _sense._

Glancing around, the room was bare apart from the bed and a mat with a few toys scattered on it. There was a small bathroom adjoined.

"Ok…" I said slowly. "Ok. Well, you can be my friend now."

Maybe then Papa wouldn't force me to go to the Academy. Although first I intended to find out why Yuukimaru was here and not in the residential section. It seemed like he didn't have parents and had thought I was Kabuto when I entered.

Could it be… Could it be he was an _experiment? _He was in the scientific section, after all, unless there was housing here as well though that seemed unlikely. Why else would Kabuto have a secret kid stashed away that he hadn't told me about? And of course Papa would know too, then.

Well, they were stupid for hiding him from me. He was going to be my friend whether they liked it or not!

I glanced down again at his toys and I caught sight of a carriage and a few ninja figurines.

"Let's play!" I said, giddy with excitement. I'd never played with anyone my age before.

Yuukimaru smiled brightly when I sat down and began tolling the carriage around, testing the spin of the wheels.

"You can be the princess," I decided, pointing to a princess figure, "and I'm gonna fight all these ninja and save you from the evil lair!"

We lost track of time, and before we knew it there was a knock on Yuukimaru's door again.

We both froze with the mutual understanding that I shouldn't be found here. Before Yuukimaru could call out to stall the person entering, the door was opening.

With as much grace as I could muster, I threw myself towards the bed and rolled under just as Kabuto stepped into the room.

I could make out their legs from under them bed. I evened my breathing, keeping as quiet as possible. Yuukimaru jumped to his feet and presumable bowed.

"Good afternoon Kabuto-san!" Yuukimaru squeaked in greeting, voice an octave higher than usual.

"Ah, Yuukimaru-kun. Looks like you were having fun playing."

"Yes sir," Yukimaru replied, thankfully getting his voice under control.

And then Kabuto's voice rose slightly.

"And Chimon-kun, next time I find you in places you shouldn't be your father will be hearing about it."

I stiffened but didn't move, and a moment later the door shut as Yuukimaru and Kabuto left.

I huffed and crawled out from under the bed.

Well, at least I'd made a friend. If I couldn't be in this room, then I'd just have to take Yuukimaru out of it!

* * *

I was heading for the commercial district, fully intent on finding a new novel to read, when I heard the sound of Papa's voice drawing closer.

Glancing about hurriedly, I dived behind a pot plant just before Papa and the scientist he was talking to rounded the corner.

"Amachi-kun, I advise you return to your post in the Land of Sea. I no longer have any personal interest in your experiments."

"But Orochimaru-sama, I have created a perfect fish-man hybrid form!"

They continued to speak as they drew closer, and I tensed and huddled further into the plant pot. As long as they both continued to look forward, I wouldn't be noticed.

It was a pipe dream.

As they drew level, Papa suddenly stopped, causing this 'Amachi' to suddenly break off from what he was saying.

I didn't dare breathe, but it was a wasted effort. Papa was looking at me!

Still, I kept my hand clamped over my mouth and remained still, as if doing so would cause him to forget he had noticed me.

His lips quirked, and finally Amachi seemed to notice me also.

"Oh! Who is that? He looks just like…"

"He is my child," Orochimaru deadpanned, and then he looked ahead and continued walking. Amachi gaped at me, for some reason extremely surprised at my existence, before he finally gathered himself and rushed after Papa.

I let out a sigh of relief and rose to my feet, lowering my hand.

This avoiding Papa thing was _hard._

* * *

I managed to avoid him for three entire days. On the fourth day, I entered the cafeteria, my eyes darting about warily. Confirming that Papa was not there already, I hastily shuffled inside.

Joining the queue for food, I gathered my courage and tugged on the pink tunic of the teenager in front of me. She had long pink hair with a beanie, and was wearing similar garments to Papa's ninja wear.

She turned with a frown and looked down at me suspiciously.

"Hello pretty lady," I said, smiling as charmingly as possible.

"Oh. You're the boss's twerp. What d'ya want, shrimp?"

I cringed at the terms, my smile dropping. Still, I needed her help.

"Can you get a tray for me too, please?" I asked.

She sized me up, realised the problem and actually laughed at me! But still, she nodded and loaded a tray up for me, chuckling as she went.

Before I could run off, however, she caught me by the back of my shirt.

"Wait, twerp. I want something in return."

My lips pulled back in a grimace. How _rude!_

"I want you to tell your daddy that Jirobo has a stash of cookies in his room, and that if he gets any fatter, he is going to slow us down."

"Oi! We heard that!" A voice called from a nearby table. The table currently had three people on it, and the one who had spoken had six arms!

The person next to him, probably Jirobo given his size, stood up with a grimace.

"How do you know about that? Have you been sneaking around in my room again, Tayuya?"

"You bet I have, fatso!" Tayuya called, still holding me captive by my shirt. I squirmed, hoping she'd let me go, but she didn't seem to notice.

"I'm not telling him for you," I cut in before I could be dragged into this drama. "Because I'm never talking to Papa again!"

Tayuya's head swivelled around to regard me with a sneer.

"Oh yea, and how's that gonna happen twerp?"

"I'm avoiding him, because he was mean to me!" I declared.

I yelped and had to adjust my grip on my tray as I suddenly found myself jerked forward. My heart thumped painfully in my chest at the way she was glaring at me. Such _hatred _in her eyes.

"Tayuya!" the six-armed boy called out in warning. All eyes in the cafeteria were watching the spectacle unfold, but Tayuya clearly paid no heed.

"Oh yea, trash? If he was really mean to you, you'd be a mutated pile of garbage right now. You're just a stuck-up, entitled little shit!"

The blood drained from my face at her words, and I felt tears spring to my eyes. Then she shoved me away and my tray crashed to the floor, food spilling everywhere, as my arms automatically reached out to catch myself.

I found myself crashing into a body rather than the ground, and before I knew what was happening, I was scooped into Papa's arms and settled on his hip. I trembled, holding back sobs that threatened to spill from my lips.

"I think that's enough ne, Tayuya-chan?"

The cafeteria fell deadly silent, just as Tayuya's face went ashen. I didn't feel any sense of triumph, however, with the way her mouth dropped open in utter fear.

And then she was on the floor, her tray set aside, prostrating herself at Papa's feet.

"It was just a joke, Orochimaru-sama!" she pleaded with barely contained panic. "I swear, I didn't mean anything by it!"

There seemed to be a long moment in which Papa observed her.

"I think we will have words later, Tayuya-chan. And I will remind you what _discipline _entails. Get up."

Tayuya rose slowly, looking faintly sick, and she bowed to Papa before moving robotically over to the table with the other three. Some of the kitchen staff ran out to clean up the mess my fallen tray had created.

Slowly, the cafeteria began to fill with low chatter once more.

Papa walked over to a two-seater table of which Kabuto was already seated, leisurely eating an omelette while simultaneously reading a scroll. Across from him was already a tray, which I could only assume belonged to Papa though I had no clue when he could have arrived. Kabuto looked up when we arrived, smiling as if nothing was amiss. If anything, he looked a little bit smug as he caught Papa's gaze.

Papa set me on his lap across from Uncle. I discreetly wiped my eyes, the only evidence remaining that I had been on the verge of crying. Although my throat still felt uncomfortably tight, so I decided to refrain from talking for a while. Not that I intended to talk to Papa anyway.

"Are you alright, Chimon-kun?" Kabuto asked kindly. I nodded glumly in response, leaning back and half hiding my face in Papa's kimono.

"How about some food Chi-chan?" Papa offered, sliding the tray closer. I shook my head and pressed deeper into his chest.

"Oh dear, am I getting the silent treatment now?"

I didn't respond, confirming his question. He sounded amused when he spoke next.

"And just when I bought a new book for you, too. I suppose you wouldn't want it then. Such a shame."

"Ah, what book is that, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked lightly.

"It's called the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi," Papa lamented. "It was written by a very famous ninja. A wandering sage, in fact. I heard it makes a very interesting read."

No. I wasn't going to fall for it. I wasn't going to ask. I _wouldn't._

"Oh? You wouldn't happen to be talking about a man named Jiraiya, would you?" Kabuto continued. "Isn't he from your old village too? One of the sannin, perhaps?"

I felt close to bursting. My mouth seemed to be trying to work of its own will. _Sannin? _I had heard that word somewhere before.

"Ah, yes," Papa commented, as if just remembering something. "Yes, I remember him now. He was my teammate, after all."

_Damnit!_

"Can I have it! Can I have it _please!_" I burst out before I could stop myself. I was bouncing on Papa's lap in anticipation.

"Ah, but perhaps it should wait for your birthday," Papa decided.

I gaped at him in horror. No, I needed it now! This book sounded like it could have _information! _On my Papa's old teammate, and the kind of person he was. And maybe it would have an 'about author' section that could tell me some important information.

"Papa!" I whined pleadingly. "Please! _Please!_ Can I have it now? I'll never put glue in your toothpaste again!"

Papa hummed thoughtfully and looked like he was about to respond when Kabuto spoke up.

"Didn't you leave it on your bed, my lord?" he commented innocently.

What was that saying? Better to ask forgiveness than permission?

I scrambled from Papa's lap and dashed from the cafeteria. I glanced back to see that Papa was casting Kabuto an amused glance as he stood up. And then he was out of sight as I turned a corner.

Lunging down several hallways, I was finally at Papa's door. I threw it open and indeed, there on the large, plush bed was a book.

With a grin, I ran to the side of the bed and reached for it. Just as my fingers brushed the spine, I suddenly found myself halted. I tugged and stretched as far as I could manage, to no avail.

Finally I glanced behind me to find Papa holding me back by my other wrist.

"You know, I was going to say yes before you ran off like that," he told me, eyes glittering with mirth.

"Really?" I asked suspiciously. He tilted his head and smiled, his grip loosening.

That was all I needed. I tore my wrist away and launched onto his bed, my hands closing around the book.

But then Papa laughed and lunged at me, knocking the book from my grip and off the edge of the bed. I shrieked and flailed as he pinned me. I used all my strength to roll him to the side, scrabbling to sit on his midsection and grab his wrists, pressing them into the bed. Unfortunately, his arms were far longer and stronger than mine, and he easily extracted himself from my attempts.

I managed to grab one of his errant arms, wrapping my legs and arm around it so it was pinned to my body. My other hand was trying to fend off his free hand which was grabbing at me.

I was forced to divert attention when suddenly his entire body upheaved and I suddenly found myself trying to escape from beneath him. We wrestled for several moments, until he manoeuvred me so his torso hovered over me and his arms and legs created a barrier.

And then his fingers found my sides.

I shrieked and writhed beneath him, struggling futilely to escape the torture.

"Help!" I cried out between the laughter forcing its way from between my lips. "Papa! Papa! I can't breathe!"

Just when I thought I was going to black out, and I couldn't get any air into my lungs, he finally stopped. I sagged onto the bed, panting but with giggles escaping me.

He rolled over, switching our positions until I was lying on top.

Propping myself up using my elbows on his ribs, I attempted to stare him down.

But then he grinned at me and I beamed back reflexively before I could stop myself. Catching myself, I ducked my head to hide my expression.

"You may have the book, but no more complaining about the Academy."

I tilted my head, considering. It seemed that, complaining or otherwise, I would be going to the Academy anyway. Even if I told him I had made a friend already, then I would have to give up that I was sneaking around and then he probably wouldn't give me the book. No, I'd have to wait a while. Preferably until I'd finished the book before revealing anything about Yuukimaru.

Resigning myself, I nodded slowly. After all, that book was too intriguing to give up.

"Yes, Papa," I mumbled into his shirt.

Speaking of Yuukimaru, I'd have to visit soon!

* * *

**So, we finally meet more characters!**

**Posted: 20/10/19**


	4. ARC 1: Break wrist no jutsu

**Yo peeps if you read the last chapter before this one came out then don't bother reading this chapter! I just chopped the last chapter in two cos I realised it was way too long lol.**

* * *

"So you were kidnapped?" I asked, tilting my head at him.

Yuukimaru rolled the carriage across the mat and let the princess figure inside it out, placing her beside the Daimyo figure.

"Well, I guess so," he murmured. "But it's not bad here, really. Kabuto takes me out to the lake a lot, and I have all these toys for when I have to stay in this room."

"You get to go _outside?_" I gasped. Yuukimaru gave me an odd look.

"You've never been outside?" he asked, his soft voice curious.

I shook my head, falling back from my seated position onto my back. I grimaced as a toy kunai dug into my back.

"Nope."

"Why don't you just ask Kabuto?" Yuukimaru wondered.

"Well, I never thought about it before really. But then I saw some of the stuff Uncle and Papa do here, and I thought that if they asked they might think I'm trying to run away and lock me up."

I paused as something hit me.

"Hey! If you go outside, does that mean you know where the exits are?" I gasped, looking at him intently.

"Yea, but they're sealed," Yuukimaru sighed. "You can't get out unless you have a pass."

"Show me," I ordered, jumping to my feet with excitement. Even if they were sealed, this was more of a lead than I'd had in _months._

"I don't know if I should go out there," Yuukimaru mumbled anxiously. "Kabuto-san tells me to stay in this room until he visits next."

"Well Uncle is _mean,_" I decided. "Wouldn't you get _bored?_"

Yuukimaru looked at the ground and nodded slowly after a moment.

"Yea, it can be… lonely," he muttered.

"Alright! Then let's go exploring!" I declared.

* * *

"Here?" I asked incredulously, staring at the plain wall, the supposed 'dead-end' of this particular hallway. I dragged my fingers over the bare stone, finding nothing amiss.

"Yea. As long as you have one of the pieces of paper with the seals painted on it, you can walk straight through it," Yuukimaru said.

Just what was the reason for this? Was it to keep the prisoners from escaping, on the off chance they managed to get out of their cells? Or was it also a defence mechanism to keep people out?

Probably both.

I walked to the edge of the wall, catching a glimpse of tiny, inked lines of fuuinjutsu. Unless you were looking, they weren't noticeable. I traced them up the side of the stone as high as I could.

I sighed and dropped my hand to my side.

Perhaps I would come back later. The library may be sorely lacking in any form of fiction, but it surely had something on fuuinjutsu.

Or… on the other hand, I could probably skip the fuuinjutsu if I could just get my hands on one of those seals.

"Well whatever. Hey, come with me, I can show you something really fun!" I grinned and dragged Yuukimaru by the hand towards the cafeteria, stealthily sneaking around scientists as we went. We turned it into an infiltration game, giggling as we traded made-up signals and code names, pretending we had radios.

Finally, we reached the cafeteria without interference. There weren't many people there, since it was mid-afternoon, and the place had been cleared until dinnertime.

"Stay here," I whispered to Yuukimaru, from where we were peeking around the doorway. "I'm going to get us some trays!"

Waiting until one of the chefs that was visible through the window to the kitchen turned away, I slunk into the room. I dived behind the counter with a roll and a flourish, picked up two of the neatly stacked metal trays, and rushed back out.

"This way!"

Not long after, we found ourselves situated before a tall, wide staircase. These stairs lead into the library. Thankfully the library seemed pretty quiet today, so we wouldn't run too much of a risk of getting caught.

"Watch this!"

I placed the tray down on the edge of the first step, then I sat down and shifted forward until I tipped over the edge.

With a gleeful shriek, I flew down the stairs and skidded across the marble flooring at the bottom until I came to a stop.

"Now you try!" I grinned, running back up the stairs. Yuukimaru looked hesitant, but he swallowed and placed his tray down like I had.

"Are you sure this is ok?" Yuukimaru asked as I came to stand behind him.

"Well, no one's told me not to before."

Probably because no one had ever caught me doing it before, except once but that was one of the scientists and after a brief reprimand which he thought had done the trick, he left me to it.

"I don't know-"

I cut him off mid-sentence with a shove to his back, and with a shrill scream he was sent sailing down the stairs. Landing safely, he was silent for a moment before he began to laugh.

"Wow! That's so fun!"

For a while, we raced each other down the staircase on our trays. Since it was hard to tell who got to the bottom first, we did a competition to see who could skid the farthest at the bottom.

We started taking run-ups and bellyflopping down to see how much faster and further we could go, until we ended up slamming into the library door at the end.

Then I got another brilliant idea.

"Hey! I bet I can do it standing up!" I decided with a victorious grin.

"No way," Yuukimaru whispered in awe as I stood at the edge of the step, standing on my tray. "Are you sure? You might fall off," he stated.

With a huff, I flicked my hair out of my eyes and prepared myself.

"I can do it easy!"

And then I pushed off.

Well, in my defence the person leaving the library just as I pushed off distracted me.

Within a split second, I felt that terrible moment of weightlessness as the tray slipped out from under my feet, and then I landed face first on the stairs. I cried out, feeling something in my wrist snap, and I bounced painfully down the stairs until I came to a stop at the bottom, the tray coming to an inconspicuous halt beside me.

"Young man!" I heard a yell that sounded both angered and panicked. Oh no, not Ai! But I had more pressing things to worry about, namely my throbbing wrist. I curled up in agony, a sob ripped from my throat.

"You, boy! Get down here and watch your friend while I go find his father!" Ai snapped, and then she was storming off.

"No! Please, don't get Papa!" I cried after her, but Ai wasn't listening. She disappeared around the corner without acknowledging my cries.

Then he pain really hit me and I curled up moaning as Yuukimaru dropped down beside me, panicked.

"Chimon! What's wrong, Chimon?" he asked desperately, reaching for the wrist I was clutching.

"NO!" I shrieked, protecting my wrist from his hands. He quickly recoiled.

I couldn't focus on him through the tears, but I managed to speak through my heaving sobs.

"You need to… go back, to your… room!" I gasped out.

"No! I won't leave you!" Yuukimaru cried out frantically, as if he thought I was dying.

Oh god… was I dying? I'd never been in so much pain before. What if…?

"I don't wanna die!" I wailed.

Yuukimaru burst out crying in response, wrapping his arms around me though thankfully he was careful not to jostle my wrist, and that is how Papa and Uncle Kabuto found us.

I saw the two appear and wasn't quick enough to warn Yuukimaru. Papa pulled Yuukimaru off me without preamble, who let out a distressed cry as he was passed off to Kabuto.

"Please don't let him die," Yuukimaru sobbed, before Kabuto proceeded to hush him.

Papa knelt down beside me and I turned my face away in shame, my lip trembling. How was I meant to explain this? Not that it mattered, since I would probably be dead soon.

"I n-never got to read that book!" I moaned, feeling waves of nausea due to the pain.

"Child, don't be dramatic. You are not dying," Papa snapped, reaching for my wrist. I felt a wash of relief at his words, only to see him reach for my arm.

"Don't touch it! Don't touch it!" I shrieked, but I was ignored as Papa lay his hand on my wrist, causing me to squeal in pain. His hand glowed green at the point of contact.

"A clean break," he stated blandly. I only just had time to support my own wrist before he swept me up into his arms.

"Kabuto-kun, let's take him somewhere more private. Ai-san, if you wouldn't mind?" He jerked his head towards the two silver trays.

Ai scowled at me but inclined her head to Papa and collected the trays as asked, and presumably left to return them to the cafeteria.

"It hurts Papa," I mewled as he carried me into an empty theatre.

"Then perhaps you should have thought before you acted," Papa responded tartly.

Kabuto entered behind us, Yuukimaru clinging to his hand. He shut the door of the room behind him.

"I did," I lied as he lay me down on the thin white hospital bed. Papa arched a brow.

"Is that so? Remind me how you injured yourself?"

My mouth opened, but no words came out. Papa smiled darkly.

"Perhaps your little friend would like to fill us in."

Yuukimaru's eyes widened at being addressed, and he hid behind Kabuto's legs, peeking out to regard Papa warily.

With a little prompting from Kabuto, he began to talk despite my betrayed glance.

"He tried to surf down the stairs on the tray," he whispered, and ducked his head away the moment the words left his lips.

Kabuto moved forward to start healing my wrist. Papa leaned his elbows on the bed and looked down at me, amusement playing across his features. I blinked my bleary eyes, causing a fresh wave of tears to roll down my face.

"What am I going to do with you, ne little one? Acting so irresponsibly… going places you shouldn't… interrupting my work…" he brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes.

I sniffled and tried to ease my trembling lip. At least the pain in my wrist was slowly disappearing, thanks to Kabuto.

"I'm sorry mister, it was my fault," Yuukimaru piped up, albeit quietly. He twisted a lock of his hair anxiously and stared at his feet. "If I hadn't left my room…"

Papa turned to regard the cowering boy. I blinked in surprise at Yuukimaru's words.

Yuukimaru looked terrified as Papa reached out, like he wanted to bolt, but instead he remained still as Papa lifted him up. Settling him on his hip and observing him, Papa touched Yuukimaru's nose, causing him to squeak and recoil, hiding his face in Papa's side.

"Ah yes, you're the three tails child…"

Yuukimaru seemed just as confused as me at the name.

"He's my friend!" I interjected; my voice stronger now that I was no longer in such pain. "And I don't like how you're treating him! He's an experiment of yours, isn't he? Locking him all alone in that room…"

Papa turned back to me, and I flinched at the smile on his face.

"I think you're forgetting something, little one. It isn't your decision to make."

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Yuukimaru had thrown himself under the bus for me, I should do the same. That's what heroes do, isn't it? And Yuukimaru has been stealing my role. Some hero I am, falling down the stairs… No, Yuukimaru was my princess now, and it was up to me to save him!

"If you let Yuukimaru go, I'll… I'll…"

I paused to consider. What could I do that Papa might be willing to negotiate for?

"I'll let you put your curse mark on me!" I declared, and it came out more confident than I felt.

"That is most noble of you," Papa mused, shifting Yuukimaru until he was cradled in his left arm. "But you forget; if I let little Yuukimaru here go, what then hm? He has no family, no village left, no survival skills… It would be so cruel of me, to drop a child who is barely more than a babe elsewhere to fend for himself."

Yuukimaru shifted anxiously and his eyes were glassy with tears at the reminder of his past, squirming in Papa's hold.

"But… but it's not fair… And he's my age! He's not a _baby. _He'd be ok," I protested, looking up at Papa with wide eyes. Papa's lips quirked as he regarded me.

"All better," Kabuto interceded smoothly. "But you will have to wear a brace for a few days to keep your wrist supported, the bone is still weakened from the break."

Yuukimaru stretched his arms out for Kabuto, to save him, causing Papa to chuckle. Nevertheless, he allowed Kabuto to take Yuukimaru from him.

"Aren't you going to thank Kabuto-kun for his help, Chi-chan?" Papa reminded me.

"Thank you," I said distractedly, glancing at him before returning my attention to Papa.

"I don't like being alone," Yuukimaru whispered, eyes on the floor. "It's ok staying here."

"You can't use him!" I cried jumping to my feet. "You can't! I don't want you to use him as an experiment!"

His golden eyes were steady as he observed me for several moments. I could feel sweat begin to bead on my forehead, but this was something that I couldn't back down from. Yuukimaru was my princess now.

And then Papa broke into a slow smile.

"So valiant," he all but purred, "so _foolish. _But… you are lucky. I have no intention of harming Yuukimaru-kun; in fact, our studies of his abilities have already been completed. If you wish to take responsibility for Yuukimaru-kun, I will not stop you."

I broke into a big smile.

"Thank you, Papa! Can he come to the academy with me?" I asked.

Papa inclined his head in affirmation, and Yuukimaru and I exchanged a glance.

This might not be so bad after all!

* * *

Since the last time I had entered Papa's secret room, he had changed the method of entry to something much more difficult to crack. I found that out when I returned during a time Papa said he and Kabuto could be gone for a few days; and now that I knew exactly what he dealt with, I would never be able to believe that he was out doing innocent duties as Otokage as he had once lead me to believe.

Frowning as I once again appraised the door and looked for weak points, I found myself disappointed. It was no longer simply a matter of dispelling a genjutsu and channelling chakra into a point on the door.

But I shouldn't have been surprised. Of _course _Papa would change the locking system.

I took a step back and regarded the door, its only defining feature the indent of two snakes hissing at each other.

Well, it wasn't genjutsu. There was no visible changes to the door, either.

But chakra was _magic. _A source of energy that defied all known laws of physics, so surely if I willed it a certain way it could help me figure out this dilemma. Its usage should only be limited to the imagination.

Maybe, I could do a scan of some kind.

I approached the door hesitantly and placed my palms on it.

To release a genjutsu, one had to purge it from the system if it was a sensory illusion, meaning it was placed on a person, or send out a pulse for an area if it was illusory.

I knew there were certain clones and other techniques which let you see through chakra constructs, an example being the earth clone in which one could choose to see through the eyes of the clone.

Sensing was also a strange ability one could train to feel out other people's chakra signatures, or just chakra in general.

Therefore, was it not plausible to use chakra to 'see' other chakra, if sensing required no movement of chakra? It would simply make it easier.

Closing my eyes, I focussed on gathering chakra in my hands, and in a fashion similar to pulsing out chakra to release a genjutsu, my chakra spread across the door before dissipating.

I felt it. Lines of chakra lacing the door, yet when I opened my eyes no chakra was visible. The lines seemed to be made of broken squiggles, but my chakra 'vision' couldn't differentiate the blurry mass. I would have to work on it. Trying to feel out the chakra through my limited sensing range, I also felt nothing. This meant that the chakra was tightly contained in the places I had felt it.

I ran my hand over where I knew one of the chakra lines was located.

There was… a slightly different feel to the wood. Slightly smoother, like someone had polished it slightly in a certain pattern, or had painted with invisible paint on-

Fuuinjutsu.

Fuuinjutsu using some kind of invisible ink.

Of _course. _When I had figured it out the first time, fuuinjutsu had crossed my mind because that was likely to be a method used to seal a door.

But I had a slight problem. I knew no fuuinjutsu, and unless I refined my chakra vision pulse I wouldn't be able to read the seals anyway.

But at least I knew where to start researching. Although Papa was a _master _of fuuinjutsu and I doubted I'd be able to decipher the seals, let alone crack them, before the academy started.

However… perhaps I could record them by refining my chakra vision, then I could use my time at the academy to crack them. I would need to take some books on fuuinjutsu though.

Resigned, I set to work figuring out how to focus on the blurred lines of chakra on the door. I would need to come back later to write it all down.

* * *

**Pls review I'm an attention whore ):**

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**Posted: 24/10/19**


	5. ARC 1: The tale of Maruorochi

**First off the story has been renamed! It used to be 'Snake's Child' but I figured that was pretty unoriginal so I changed it X'D**

**Sorry to everyone for the long break! Unfortunately it may be a while until I update again, which is why I did this cute lil chapter to make up for it since I still haven't made my final decision on where this story is heading.**

** CRINGE ALERT AHEAD!**

* * *

It took me an entire week to refine my chakra vision so I could accurately make out the fuuinjutsu symbol on the door, and another day to accurately and painstakingly record each and every one in a journal I had bribed a scientist into buying me in return for putting in a good word with Papa. Not that I probably would. I had forgotten his name already.

In any case, the day after that urgent matter was attended to, I spent alternating between playing with Yukimaru and engrossing myself in the 'Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi'. I normally shied away from stories of ninja, since they tended to dabble in copious amounts of murder and oftentimes torture, but this was different.

The main character was called Naruto, and while the plot was fairly generic it was still entertaining. Though the portrayal of ninja was quite unconventional in an idyllic and childlike way that I couldn't help but love. Naruto was a hero, through and through. It was an adventure story, but the kind of heroic acts of forgiveness and kindness he displayed were typical of what I would find in fantasy novels, not tales of a ninja. He somehow managed to beat his opponents until they realised the errors of their ways through his sound logic, and they ultimately changed for the better, sometimes even siding with Naruto to help him.

Maybe that was all Papa needed, someone to remind him of how evil he had become through his cruel experiments? Then he might become good again!

Unfortunately, Naruto seemed to have a flair for turning his opponents. I wasn't sure I could manage such a thing, though I supposed I could always _try_.

With a sigh, I flipped to the back that detailed the 'about author' section. It didn't tell me much, only that Jiraiya was a legendary ninja, one of the 'sannin' and that in his travels since leaving his home village Konoha he had started writing many novels, including the famous 'Icha Icha' series.

It was somewhat strange that he had left his home village and not been branded a missing-nin. He must have been granted permission, or his travels must be helping Konoha in some way. Like, maybe he was gathering intelligence or something, like a real spy.

I dismissed the thought as ludicrous. Maybe Papa was right. Maybe all these books I had been reading had been going to my head.

I shut the book and glanced to my side where Yukimaru had fallen asleep. Ever since I had taken responsibility for Yukimaru, he had moved to my room and we shared my bed. His old room had probably become the room for another prisoner.

Still, I didn't mind. It was nice to have a real friend my own age. Isas was still ignoring me, too.

I blew out the candle on my bedside table, placed the book on the ground and promptly rolled over and fell asleep.

* * *

"You want to convince your dad to not be evil?" Yukimaru confirmed, fiddling with the new toy Kabuto had bought him. It was a cube made up of smaller cubes of different colours that you were meant to twist until each side displayed one colour each.

The two of us were sitting in one of the common rooms that were open to the public. It had couches and a crackling fire and was generally just a nice area. It was popular for the older scientists who would come here to gossip and complain about their work. Now that I thought about it, it was actually a pretty good place to gather information. Though it was empty at the moment since it was midday and everyone was still at work.

I nodded my head vigorously in response to Yukimaru. Since we would be attending the academy soon, I wouldn't have as much time in the day to see Papa. So, now would be the best time to try and use Therapy no Jutsu like the Naruto in Jiraiya's book!

"Yea, I have to try my best to make him a good person! Will you help me practice?"

"Ok, but do you really think it'll make a difference?" Yukimaru questioned as he placed the unfinished colourful cube on the carpet, pouting at failing to complete it.

"Well, I _have _to try!" I declared. "Plus, Naruto could do it with all the evil people he met, and he's a main character so I have to be like him."

Yukimaru nodded at my logic and sat down across from me.

"Ok, I'll be your dad then," he said seriously. He cleared his throat and attempted to take on a deeper voice.

"Hello son. I want to experiment on some innocent people and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Mwahahaha!" Yukimaru then looked to me expectantly.

I took a deep breath.

"That's not ok," I said sincerely. "You shouldn't be mean to innocent people. They didn't do anything wrong! Let them go, or you'll feel guilty and sad for the rest of your life."

Then;

"How did that sound?"

"That was really good!" Yukimaru enthusiastically replied. "I'm sure it'll work!"

I puffed my chest up proudly. "Let's go talk to him now!" We jumped to our feet and-

"That might have to wait, Chimon-kun."

Yukimaru and I whirled around to find Kabuto smiling at us from the couch, somehow having appeared there without us noticing. When had he arrived?

"Uncle?" I asked, gaping. "What are you doing here?"

"Your father sent me to make sure you two have packed. We're heading off this evening, after all." Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Although from your riveting discussion, I assume you two haven't given it any thought. You haven't forgotten that the Academy starts tomorrow, have you?"

Yukimaru and I traded guilty glances. In truth, it hadn't crossed my mind.

"We'll go pack!" I quickly assured him. "Then I'll talk to Papa!"

"I'll send him over to check your bags," Kabuto drawled, smirking as we dashed out of the room.

15 minutes later, we had stuffed everything we could fit into our two backpacks. I had managed to fit three books on fuuinjutsu plus the paper with the encryption I'd written down from Papa's door (hidden between the pages of one of the books), my old blankie that I was still emotionally attached to, and a brush and ink kit I'd found in Papa's room.

Yukimaru had put all his figurines, his cube and his teddy into his bag.

Thus prepared, I suddenly had a great idea.

"We need to set the scene before Papa gets here!" I almost yelled with excitement. "This is our chance to convince him to come to the good side! As the main characters, we need to make sure we have the best chance of success!"

Thus, I explained to Yukimaru my brilliant idea. Five minutes later, the middle of the room had been cleared and Yukimaru sat on the floor, leaning over his teddy bear with a scalpel in hand and a torch in the other. I had taken the scalpel, along with the white lab coat that was dwarfing his form from Kabuto's supply room.

I had even smeared 'blood' all over the ground around the teddy bear in the form of tomato sauce from the kitchens.

"It looks perfect!" I declared.

Yukimaru looked pale and anxious, but he smiled weakly. "You don't think he'll be angry, do you?" he asked timidly.

Before I could respond, however, the door was swinging opened. Lunging for the light switch, I quickly turned off the lights just as Papa stepped into the room.

"Go, Yukimaru!" I whispered urgently when a moment of silence passed in which Papa stood in the entrance, a brow raised to the darkness.

There was an audible 'meep' and the sound of fumbling before the torch suddenly lit up Yukimaru's face in the pitch blackness, held from under his chin. While the lighting was sinister, the anxiety on Yukimaru's face was prominent.

"M-my n-name is Maruorochi, a-and I like doing evil things…" Yukimaru recited, voice trembling.

I switched the light back on, revealing the sight of Yukimaru leaning over his teddy, sawing at it with the scalpel (although careful not to tear the teddy, of course) with the blood splashed all about him.

Now, it was my turn.

"But wait!" I cried, jumping into the scene. I stood over Yukimaru with my hands on my hips. "Doing evil things is not ok!"

Yukimaru looked up at me with fright, though I had the feeling it was only half acted.

"If you keep being a villain, you'll be really sad because the hero is going to come and lock you away!" I cried dramatically.

"No!" Yukimaru wailed. "I don't want to be locked away!"

He dropped the scalpel to the ground.

"I won't be bad any longer! I promise!"

"Then you can live a good, happy life filled with contentment," I told him seriously.

Finally, I looked towards my Papa who was still standing in the same spot since the beginning. His face was entirely blank. I noticed Kabuto was behind him, covering his mouth with his hand, his entire body trembling.

There was a moment of silence following our little spectacle until finally Papa spoke.

"Kabuto, you may excuse yourself before you lose your composure," he said without even looking at him.

Kabuto managed a choked sound before he suddenly disappeared, leaving just the three of us.

Papa tapped his chin, the corners of his lips twitching.

"That was an… interesting play," he began, watching as Yukimaru got to his feet and shed the lab coat, clinging to his teddy. I stood beside him and beamed up at Papa.

"Did you like it?" I asked. Surely he had gotten the hidden message. He was meant to be really smart, after all.

"I found it thoroughly entertaining," Papa smirked, gliding closer. "I especially liked the part about this 'Maruorochi' deciding to throw away his evil habits. I wonder who he was inspired from…"

I leapt to his side as he sat down on the bed, beginning opening our two bags and inspecting the contents. I felt a rush of fear as I realised he was going to see all the fuuinjutsu things I had in there. While the encryptions were hidden, he would see that I had taken his ink and brush! I had to distract him!

"Doesn't he remind you of someone?" I asked solemnly, sitting beside him and looking up at him expectantly.

Papa paused and glanced at me, tilting his head.

"Ah, I see," he mused, tone serious. But his eyes were twinkling with mirth. "I heard you and Isas got into a fight, but really, portraying him in such a villainous manner-"

"It wasn't Isas!" I burst out quickly, cutting him off. "It was someone else! I think you need to think on it," I informed him.

There would be no point in telling him straight off the bat. He would need to come to the conclusion himself and realise the error in his ways.

"Ah," Papa nodded wisely. "I certainly shall. In the meantime, I will ask you why my missing fuuinjutsu ink and brush is in your bag?"

I cocked my head at him quizzically. The conversation had given me a moment to come up with an excuse.

"It's just that… I just _really_ want to be a fuuinjutsu master just like you!" I said, giving him the puppy dog eyes. Flattery would get you anywhere, I had learned when swindling goods from many a scientist. And plus, it was technically true. I _did _want to be a master, so then I could unveil all of Papa's traps.

He grinned.

"My, and here I thought you were above emotional manipulation," he said, tilting my chin so I could no longer give him my puppy dog eyes.

"I am! But it's _different _with villains," I told him petulantly.

"Hm, is that so? Well, I suppose I will allow it. But next time you will ask before taking from me."

After he approved our things, he disappeared to complete some 'final preparations'.

Soon, a new chapter of our lives would begin!

* * *

**A/N: ****Is it sad that Chimon's actions remind me of some of the painfully cringey things I did as a kid? Is it normal to be that cringe? X'D**

**Anyway please review if you have a moment (;**

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**POSTED: 27/02/20**


	6. ARC 1: The Village of Oto

**I lied. I am updating sooner, because what better way to procrastinate while there's a pandemic raging outside?**

* * *

It finally hit me as we waited for Papa to return.

I was going to go outside!

"I'm going to see the sky! And trees! And sunshine!" I hollered, dashing up and down the corridor with my bag bouncing on my back with each step. Yukimaru simply stared at me in bemusement.

It was then that Isas decided to show his face after all this time, slithering around the corner. I stopped in my exhilarated sprinting and stared at him. He stared back, not a trace of regret on his face.

Silence ensued, neither of us blinking. After our argument, why turn up now?

He must have made his decision. Either he was here to say goodbye, or…

"Are you coming with me?" I asked finally.

Isas made a sound that was probably the snake's equivalent of a 'humph'.

"I suppose I shall," he responds haughtily. I can't help but light up in a grin as he approaches and slithers up my leg and under my clothes, finally settling around my neck.

"Meet Yukimaru!" I introduce, spinning around to face my bemused friend. "This is Isas, he's always really grumpy, but he's my friend!"

Isas hisses in annoyance at my introduction. He eyes Yukimaru warily.

"Nice to meet you, Isas-san," Yukimaru murmurs in his soft, soulful voice. He gives a small bow.

"I like him," Isas decides promptly. "He knows how to show some respect. Snakes like myself are superior beings-"

"And he thinks he's better than everyone, and he's self-centred," I interrupt, ignoring his words. But I'm smiling. In truth, I'm just glad to have him back.

"I didn't notice," Yukimaru deadpans.

It's so unexpected, a sudden laugh bubbles from my throat. I hadn't heard Yukimaru crack a joke before. We both giggle.

Isas huffs, gives us both a glare, and retreats into my shirt.

It was then that Papa appeared with Kabuto at his side.

"Papa!" I throw myself at him. The excitement burns through me. I'm going to see the sky!

He catches me and lifts me into his chest. But I notice something odd. There was a flinch in his movement, like a frisson of pain. It was such a small movement, but I noticed it.

Yet when I look up at his expression, searching, he's smirking like nothing is amiss.

"Oh my, such enthusiasm! And here I thought you weren't interested in the academy…" his voice is teasing, lilting.

"I'm _not!_" I proclaim. "I just want to see the outside! I really wanna see the sky!" I add giddily.

"Well then, let's head off shall we?"

Kabuto lifts Yukimaru up and before we know what's happening, the world is suddenly blurring past, so fast that I cannot make out any proper detail. All I know is that the air smells so much _different. _But nice, _fresh._

It only takes a few minutes at this incredibly high speed to arrive at our destination, and I am dizzy as I am let down. I stagger and notice that Yukimaru looks quite sick as he, too, is put down.

"Th-that was amazing!" I cry, but quickly my attention is drawn to the world around me.

It's so… _green. _And the sky really is as blue as they say. Before I can stop myself, I am running towards a tree. I feel the bark, the rough texture. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves, and I feel that odd feeling of _sunlight _on my body; like a comforting blanket. Such a strange feeling, like it's caressing me with warmth yet I can't see the rays of light at all.

"I can feel it!" I squeal, pushing away from the tree and noting the vibrant green grass beneath my feet. "The sunlight! It's touching me! I think the sun likes me!"

"Chimon-kun, the sun is not alive," Uncle informs me, face bland and the light glinting from his glasses.

"Yea it _is,_" I refute reasonably. "The books say the sun smiles down at us, and it watches us all! So it must be alive!"

Yukimaru blinks, as if something is dawning upon him.

"And the sun rises and falls and shines brightly all by itself, so it's true!" Yukimaru adds, awe colouring his tone at the realisation.

"Incorrect. The sun is a hot ball of glowing gases," Uncle replies coolly. "And books often personify things. It doesn't make them truly alive."

"That's wrong! The books said-"

"Those are _fantasy _books, Chimon-kun. Perhaps if you bothered to pick up something relating to _science-_"

But Uncle cuts off at the look Papa throws him.

"Now, now, no need for such heated discussion."

But my attention is already wandering, my eyes catching sight of a flower. It's got white petals and is bright yellow in the middle, as if the sun itself has settled between the petals. I pluck it and run back to Papa, almost tripping over in my haste.

"Look what I found! Look! Look!"

I ignore Uncle's disdainful sigh.

"That's a daisy," Papa informs me. "It needs the sun to grow, otherwise it would wither and die."

"The sun likes this daisy then," I realise.

Then I turn to Yukimaru, dashing towards my friend.

"For you, Princess Yuki," I say with a grin, tucking it behind his ear.

Yukimaru's face goes blooms a startling shade of red. He seems shocked, mortified but unresponsive as I finish tucking the flower in and let my hand drop.

Finally, he seems to gather himself.

"Hey! Don't call me that, it's embarrassing," he all but hisses, glancing at Uncle and Papa, cheeks still dusted pink.

I almost tell him that he was my princess, because had I not saved him from the villain's evil lair?

But I only laugh, because that probably wouldn't go down well.

"I'm really glad I found you in that room, Yukimaru!" I clap him on the shoulder and turn around.

"Let's go!" I cry, pointing at the wall in the distance. The wall to the village, where the future awaits!

I never did see Yukimaru's expression, the way he watched me run off with wide eyes. And slowly, he reached a hand up to clutch at his chest, right over his heart.

"I'm the one who's glad," he whispers.

.

.

.

There are so many sights and sounds and smells, things that I've never known. Real houses and outdoor vendors and stalls, other kids my own age running around the streets. It's a small village, from what I can tell, but it's so _beautiful. _

There's laughter and the sound of frying food and wind, footsteps of people traversing the markets with bubbly voices.

It's so _happy._

Kabuto vanished at some point off doing who knows what, but Yukimaru and I barely noticed, too caught up with sightseeing.

Yukimaru and I follow Papa as he leads us deep into the village, where colourful houses line the streets rather than shops and stalls, and the crowds thin out.

Finally, he stops in front of the gate to a particular house and produces a key from seemingly nowhere, turning to us and holding it up.

"This is going to be your new home from now on."

The house is small and quaint, but has a big grass patch out the front, with stone steps leading to the veranda.

Yukimaru and I exchange excited glances and follow him as he enters the garden and onto the veranda.

Then he unlocks the door as the two of us crowd around him. He opens it with a flourish and smirks, mockingly bowing and gesturing for us to enter.

We burst into the small house. It's two story and I race for the stairs first, while Yukimaru dashes for the first door on the right.

The house has three bedrooms and one bathroom upstairs, and the kitchen, laundry and living room are downstairs, along with an extra bathroom.

"Wow, we get this house all to ourselves?" I asked Papa once I had inspected every room, eyes sparkling. Yukimaru joined me a moment later, grinning.

Papa's brow arches while reclining in the couch he's claimed in the living room.

"If by 'ourselves' you mean you two, myself and possibly Kabuto-kun, then yes."

I blink before I manage to hide the confusion shadowing my features.

"Wait, you're staying here too?"

My voice cracked with a horror before I could stop it. Yukimaru put a hand on my shoulder solemnly.

"Did you expect otherwise?" Papa asks, eyebrow quirking higher.

"Why do _you _have to be here?" I ask bluntly, the blood draining from my face.

This is terrible. If he really is going to be here, it'll make escape harder than I anticipated. After all, I didn't expect he'd go so far as to move with us!

He chuckles, golden eyes appraising.

"My dear, did you truly think I was going to let you two live alone? How did you expect to cook food and buy living necessities and be functionally independent?"

"I-"

I shut my mouth. I hadn't really thought about it. But it couldn't be that hard, right?

"I'm sure we could pull it off," Yukimaru pipes up. He glances at me, and there's steel in his eyes. He wants this as much as I do.

"My goodness, were my little ones expecting to leave the nest so early? I don't think so," Papa says, eyes dancing with amusement. His mouth stretches into a wry grin. "But if it makes you feel any better, I won't be around too much. The hideout isn't far from the village, so I'll be going back most days for my research."

Then, out of the blue, Papa's eyes narrow, staring at something over my shoulder. I glance around, but there's nothing except the window overlooking the street.

Then his eyes snap to us.

"Looks like we'll be having a visitor," he says, tone cool. And before either of us can respond, the window behind us _shatters._

Both Yukimaru and I dive to the side, shrieking. Are we being attacked?

A form flings itself at Papa, heading right for him. Why is Papa just sitting there? He's clearly being attacked!

I'm on my feet and rushing to his aid as the form slams into him, sending the couch Papa is on crashing backwards.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" I yell, and I throw myself onto the pile.

_It's a man_, is the first thing I realise, _and he looks like a circus act._

"Oro-channn~" the man sing-songs, sitting astride Papa while I try and strangle the stranger, arms wrapping around his neck from behind. But he barely seems to notice.

Papa, for some reason, simply sighs.

"Isao-kun," Papa murmurs with a hint of amusement. "What a pleasant surprise."

The so-called Isao grins, eyes sinister.

"No need to sound so enthusiastic, Oro-chan."

And finally he seems to notice that there are, in fact, arms wrapped tight around his throat.

"Ah! You're Oro's minion!" he exclaims, standing up. I let go of his neck and he turns around to face me. I stumble away so I don't have to crane my neck once I ascertain that he is not, in fact, intending to kill Papa.

He looks no older than 25, with piercing slanted grey eyes, and crimson red hair. But it's the clothes that catch my attention; he's wearing a plain black shirt over red jeansand knee-high black boots that have heels too high to be considered traditionally 'mens'.

And on his head is a golden crown, a single red jewel glittering in the middle.

Yukimaru stands by my side, just as uneasy as I am.

While the man's expression is overly joyous, his unnerving eyes are _calculating._

_Dangerous, _I realise, despite the cheery façade he displays. I swallow. But what did I expect of someone who treats Papa in such a way and seemingly gets away with it?

"And who's your other little minion?" Isao asks, looking Yukimaru up and down, curiosity glinting in his eyes. "I don't suppose he's from Kiri?"

What an odd way to phrase that question.

"My, my, to notice such a thing… well, I suppose it's to be expected of someone who tried to kill the Fourth Mizukage," Orochimaru replies, smile creeping across his face.

_Yukimaru… is from Kiri? And what's the Fourth Mizkage got to do with anything?_

Yukimaru blinks, similarly taken aback. He couldn't remember much of his past, from what I had gathered.

"They're so adorable!" Isao exclaims in a sudden change of tack, and he looks like he's about to lunge at us but thankfully a knock at the front door distracts him.

"Ah, I almost forgot! I brought my minions for a play date!"

Then he vanishes and Yukimaru and I both glance over to see him opening the front door, opening it to reveal two kids standing there.

"Father, the guest is not meant to be the one opening the door," a little boy chides. He's almost a carbon copy of his father, only his hair falls over one of his eyes, hiding it, and he has a red teardrop painted on his cheek under his uncovered eye.

The other is a girl, but while she has the grey eyes, her hair is a silky black, falling to her hips.

Isao pouts in response, while the girl remains quiet, observing the scene coolly.

"How thoughtful of you, Isao-kun," Orochimaru drawls, having returned himself and the couch to its original position. "Do come in, Akira-kun, Rei-chan."

Rei and Akira, it turns out, are both going to be at the academy with us. Yukimaru and I exchange meaningful glances. While it's good to make friends, there's something slightly _off _about Akira and Rei. They're twins, apparently, but they couldn't be more different. Akira smiles to much; an unfeeling smile, while Rei doesn't smile at all, and seems to be bored by everything. They don't seem to get on too well, either.

Still, they're interesting and it would be nice to know some more people before we start the academy tomorrow.

.

.

.

"I don't want you to walk us to the academy, it's embarrassing!" I whine as I shoulder my bag. "It was bad enough yesterday, with everyone staring because you're their kage."

"Can't a parent walk their child to school on the first day?" Papa muses, tapping his chin as if in thought.

"You could use a henge," Yukimaru suggests in his soft voice.

"Good idea!" I nod vigorously at the suggestion and turn to Papa with pleading eyes. "I'll even hold your hand if you do!"

Papa's eyes dance with mirth.

"Oh my, how could I ever refuse such an offer."

A moment later, there's a plain-looking brown-haired woman standing before us.

I smile and grasp Papa's hand.

One day, I'm going to save Papa from himself and free all his experiments. He might be a villain, but even villains can change. Naruto taught me that. And I'm the best one for the job, because if I'm not going to save Papa from his own evilness, then who will?

I'm going to get strong, and I'm going to defeat my Papa.

As if sensing my thoughts, Papa's smile widens.

"Well then, let's get going shall we?"

* * *

**So, a lot of important little things happened in this chapter, mostly about Yukimaru. Isas got reintroduced briefly. We see Yukimaru, possibly for the first time, feel what it's like to be valued (along with some symbolism and foreshadowing lol). And he seems to be becoming more comfortable in himself. Also is it just me or is Chimon growing a bit of an ego? We got introduced to some OCs that will spice up the plot and found out that there's more to Yukimaru's past than we might expect. **

**But beware my dear readers, the fic is going to take a sharp turn soon, so watch out! It's been a gentle ride so far. I'm afraid that won't be lasting for long XD**

**Posted: 27/03/20**


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